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Cierra
Personality A naïve, cheerful, clumsy and ditzy young woman whose instances of wisdom and bluntness come out of nowhere and leave so quickly that people are left wondering just what this redhead is all about. She would say it's not all that complicated; she's just all about learning everything there is to know about magic, living life to the fullest while she can and being a big sister to all who need that sort of guidance. And failing at cooking. And occasionally making things worse by losing her balance when she tries to cast a spell. Though that isn't what Cierra is really ALL about as her experiences have taught her life isn't fair sometimes and can turn in a manner that makes one question their role in the world. She still gives living her life all of the enthusiasm she has, but she braces herself for the twist that can come out of nowhere and just hopes it doesn't negatively affect a loved one. Especially if it's because of a mistake she made whether through a bad decision or...a potion that was mixed wrong, which does in fact happen often enough to be a legitimate fear. Both the bad decisions and the failed potions. If it's easier for people to believe all there is to her is clumsiness and ditz-hood, though, she'll leave them to their beliefs. There's no sense in quibbling over her personality unless they actually want to get to know her better. Background Contrary to what some would believe judging by her demeanor, Cierra actually grew up in a strict, blood purist household in America with a paranoid father and a mother that acted as a calming anchor to him. She was allowed to leave the house only under close supervision and was mostly unaware of the world outside, left alone with her books and dutifully following all of her parents' teachings. In the month of November in 1996, however, was when things started to change; a strange group of people brought in by the house elves announced to the then-seven–year-old Cierra that her parents had died. They were killed in a country called Ireland by a thing called a manticore. Cierra, having only seen such things in her books, didn't know how to take this or the events that followed. She was left with her uncle who was looked down upon as a black sheep of the family and was rehabilitated gradually into the gentle and happy girl she is today over the next few years. At first, she stuck to suppressing her cheerful ways, believing in the blood purist ideals and relentlessly pursuing knowledge even at Hogwarts, but over time she began to soften and grow fond of the humble atmosphere of her new home and school. While this was going on, she had struck up a casual sort of mentor/student friendship with Dumbledore who advised her on various things like her budding views of pacifism and how not to blow things up in Potions. The latter, clearly, did not stick with Cierra. Though she loved her home and the life she had with her family, Cierra decided she wanted to explore the boundaries of her independence and the world that was opened up to her. It was small things at first, like her insisting that she needed to get a job at the age of fifteen to buy her own supplies. It eventually escalated into leaving the house right on her eighteenth birthday and wandering the countryside. This continued on for about a year, teaching Cierra how to survive without the safeness of a regular home as opposed to a tent that looks like one and allowing her to achieve greater things with her skills. Eventually, however, she received a letter from Hogwarts. At first thinking it was just an invitation to a reunion, Cierra ignored it until an owl bonked her on the head with a journal that came along with the letter. She opened it and found out that Dumbledore was asking her to teach Charms to the younger years over at Hogwarts. Partially thinking this was just a joke and partially excited to go back to Hogwarts, Cierra accepted the position. She looked forward to whatever her new job had to offer. So far a year has passed and Cierra has done some things she never thought she would do. Hogwarts seems to bring out the worst in a person on certain days (such as opposite ones) and she has found herself on edge emotionally a lot. Whether it's feeling fear or regret, it has come up in ways she didn't think would come up. The worst thing that still rests at the back of her mind now is accidentally killing a Death Eater while protecting two students. Everybody told her that it was fine and she shouldn't have to feel bad about what she did, but to Cierra the ending of any life, especially someone that probably didn't know better is one of the worst sins one can commit. Therefore it surprised her when there was aggressive opposition to her quitting and going back to being a hermit. Surprised or not, it forced Cierra to take a good long look at all the mistakes she's made in life and the bad and good things that have happened. She decided that those things all contributed to who she is as a person and though she'll probably never stop feeling sad about what she did, that incident helped to make her grow as a person. Cierra went back to teaching, this time teaching all the years, with a hope that things would be better but still with a sense of caution. Relationships Death the Kid Also known as 'Kiddo.' One of the first students she met through the journals and one of the few people in general to give Cierra a bad first impression. Kid looked strange, acted strange and gave off the distinct impression that he thought he was better than her. He was not the first thing Cierra thought of when she thought of a teen-aged boy (and she had a cousin his age and helped raise her cousins, so she was experienced with children) and thought he was bad news. Over time she began to realize that she was uncharacteristically judgmental of him and that he could actually be a sweetheart when the situation called for it. In some strange way, he became sort of another little brother to her. Not that she'd say that aloud, he probably wouldn't appreciate that. Ein An old friend of hers from when she went to Hogwarts, Ein recently came to Hogwarts to teach flying after playing for a professional Quidditch team along with their other friend Serene (whom Ein has been dating for the past year). Seeing Ein again after about two years was a surprise to Cierra, especially upon hearing how much has changed in that time, but she looks forward to getting to know him again. They are both awkward fail adults when in proximity to each other, but then they're not that much older than the students so it doesn't really count. And Ein is definitely the source of the awkward, Cierra just rolls with it. Really. Now that she's back in regular contact with an old friend again, she'll do her very best to be the best friend she can be, especially now that she's learned that Ein's having profound relationship problems with Serene due to their distance. She's optimistic that things will work out, though. Despite the mounting awkward between herself and Ein, things absolutely must will work out for him and Serene. Is she going to continue asserting this even after Ein and Serene broke up? Well...no, she's not that much of a ditz. But how it's affected Ein does worry her as she doesn't know anything about relationships. Unfortunately, another awkward spanner was thrown in the works: it turns out Ein developed feelings for her and now he and Cierra are quote-unquote dating. Jade Curtiss Also known as 'Sir.' Possibly the only person Cierra feels slightly awkward around. They first met when she caught him outright saying that he would do bad things to Kid, which caused a clash of personalities between them because you don't mess with Cierra Rowan's little brother, biotch, and again when she announced her intent to quit after killing a Death Eater. This, of course, caused a clash of personalities; except that time it was a depressed woman and a grouchy old man that didn't want her to leave. Some time after Cierra decided she shouldn't give up, Jade was affected by a love potion. This is where the awkward feeling comes in; she was the unknowing target of his affection. She had tea with him trying to figure out what was wrong with him while they talked about Jade's life. She learned a lot more than she would have ever needed to know as someone that barely knew the man and felt guilty taking advantage of what she found out (too late) was a love potion. In a way they're friends, yet in another way they're not. It's a strange sort of mix between mutual respect and old man sarcasm. (Dropped character) Jei Monachus Strangely enough, nothing at all strikes her as off about Jei. When she first met him, he seemed like a bright and curious boy that wanted to learn about the art of making loud noises louder. And he was interested in poetry, so there couldn't have been anything wrong with the slightly off-looking then-twelve year old. She gave him her copy of The Wizard of Oz, a book she liked as a kid, for Christmas. (Dropped character) Kazuhiko Yukimi A very nice and helpful man that frequently has conversations with her in the halls and offers to help carry some of the more heavy things that Cierra has to cart around. For some reason he never seems to make eye contact with her and always walks a few feet behind her in the hall. He must be shy. Yukimi is also the drunken mistake husband that Maron is trying to find a way to divorce. He was the first person Cierra told about that law. She's very happy to have made friends with someone close...er to her in age and is possibly the only person that calls him by his first name at Hogwarts. Recently she's started to get hints that Yukimi might not exactly be as nice as she thinks he is, but Cierra will withhold any sort of judgment and be his friend still. In the wake of the beginning of the war where Yukimi lost his arm, Cierra's felt helpless and wants to support her friend in any way she can. However it seems that Yukimi isn't very receptive of any sort of kind gesture and concern from her. In fact he seems a little bit aloof to her. It makes her sad. Maron Kusakabe One of the few female staff members, Maron's a welcome change with the absence of any of her female friends outside of the school and the overwhelming amount of masculine influence in the school itself. She doesn't get to talk to Maron often, whether because of scheduling conflicts or just different social habits, but any time they have has been pleasant at least. Recently Cierra accidentally blurted out that by the law of the United Kingdom Maron would not be able to divorce from her drunken mistake husband in their first year of marriage. That was extremely awkward. She has no idea why Maron gives her horrified looks when she makes reference to going out with Yukimi. It's perfectly harmless to go out with your friend, right? But oh does Maron have problems with Yukimi, so Cierra has learned. She married him by accident, kissed him and slept with him, all while Yukimi is apparently carrying on another relationship. These problems are much more dysfunctional than what troubles Ein and Serene might be having and all Cierra can really do is listen and be supportive as she has no experience with the ways of love. And hope that fellow Catholic Maron received absolution for her transgressions. And, by extension, feel secondhand embarrassment and want to go to confession herself. Trivia Moved and expanded upon here. I might be obsessive. See Also Cierra's profile Cierra's application again again, archived in the musebox along with a rewrite. Too damn lazy to fish through comments to find the original and still a rewrite-whore.